


Cloud Strife's Diary

by insecuties



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Boss/Employee Relationship, Comedy, Drama, Drama & Romance, Dramedy, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Gay Sex, M/M, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:27:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insecuties/pseuds/insecuties
Summary: 𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙚 — a 20- something backcountry boy living out his big city dreams working a 9 to 5 job at a ShinRa, a top-tier business company. But, with big dreams came big consequences. Amid shady colleagues and unlucky ordeals, Cloud must play dirty in order to win the ultimate price: the heart of his new boss.Inspired by H.Fielding's hit novel Bridget Jones' Diary, Cloud Strife's Diary features the cast of characters from Final Fantasy: Crisis Core and Final Fantasy VII in the hilarious, down to earth narrative of Cloud Strife as he gets entangled in relationships, drama and new experiences.(Author's Note: For the sake of this story, some canon facts and events from the Final Fantasy VII universe weren't taken into account throughout the writing process.)𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝟏𝟖+©  All rights reserved
Relationships: Angeal Hewley/Genesis Rhapsodos, Sephiroth/Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough, Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  ❛ 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 → [𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘃𝗮.](https://www.canva.com/)   
> 

𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟏𝟒𝐓𝐇, [ μ ] - εγλ 𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐗

( 𝟎𝟗:𝟏𝟑 𝐏𝐌 ) _Ugh_. The only thing I asked for was a calm evening at home. After five days of torture, all I was looking forward to was passing out on the couch and waking up in the weird hours of the morning when all there is to watch is either bad erotica movies or some kids' show.

But I guess that's too much to ask for.

"CLOUD! Hey buddy!" I winced as I heard the front door colliding with the wall, brazen footsteps inching towards the bedroom.

As it turns out, my plans of some much needed me-time just happened to coincide with one of my work colleagues' birthday. So naturally, my roommate was determined to (literally) drag me out the door.

"To hell with that, Zack. Let me sleep" I grunted.

"Aww- Dude, you're no fun. Please! I promise we will have a good time!" I attempted to go back to sleep by covering my face with the bedsheets, but Zack swiftly tugged them down "Besides, I think i'd be a cool opportunity for you to put yourself out there!"

"Put myself out there?" I gestured sarcastically with air quotes.

"Yeah, try getting to know your work buddies a bit more" I could sense he was starting to get impatient "Just quit acting like such a bitch about it and let's go! Whaddya say?"

 _Argh!_ What difference would it make if I was there or not? It's barely been two months since I got the job as administrative-assistant (definitely not a high-tier position) for this business company known as ShinRa. As such, I'm not exactly sure i'd be missed if I didn't go.

Hell, I sure most people don't even know my face!

Actually, maybe Zack would miss me.

He's been my rock and roommate ever since I moved here. I would even go as far as to call him my...

_Friend?_

No, that's not it. Maybe something more intimate?

_Best friend._

Bingo, that's better. And that with that title came making compromises. I guess that meant casting aside my bitchy persona, just for tonight.

"Fine, but you owe me one" Oh Cloud, what don't you do for your friends "And for the record Zack, I hate you for this"

"YES! That's the spirit, Cloud!"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

( 𝟏𝟎:𝟎𝟕 𝐏𝐌 ) _Wow_. Midgar was exactly how the humble folks back home would describe it: vibrant, modern and noisy. Even at night. Especially at night.

Zack had agreed to drive over there, saying he knew the fastest way to get at our destination. Judging by the fact that he has been living here longer than I have, I trusted him with making these decisions.

However, he wouldn't stop talking about this stupid party. _Argh!_ Couldn't he just save the chitchat for later and spare my sanity?

_Hmm... Maybe if I just turned on the radio-_

"I'm telling you, it will be great way to meet new people!" He said as he stopped at a red light "... And you never know what could happen. It'll be fun, you'll see"

_Zack dear, please shut the fuck up._

"Bet it will" I answered sarcastically "I can already feel the shit ton of fun i'm having tonight at fucking Rhapsodos' place-"

All of a sudden, we both flinched hearing a sound coming from outside.

"Ohh hellooo" Someone with a ridiculously high-pitched voice was tapping on the driver's window.

Not going to lie, I was a bit on edge when Zack rolled down the window and- /Holy hell/ Why were these women dressed as bees? Wasps? Hornets?

Like a give a shit.

"Well hello there" Wait, why the hell was Zack flirting with them? How dares he when he has a _girlfriend?!_ "What brings you lovely ladies here?"

"I think we should be asking you _cuties_ the same question!" I sometimes wonder if they purposely pitched their voice to make you feel as if your ears are about to bleed out (personally, it's more of a turn off than I care to admit it).

I couldn't let this go any further. He had a girlfriend for fuck's sake! At least that's what he told me and the entire planet. Luckily, the lights had flickered green before anything else happened.

"Zack" I called out his name with a hint of annoyance, snapping him back to Gaia.

I have to make a mental note to make sure I get behind the wheel next time.

"Oh- Sorry!"

━━━━━━━━

"It says we're here" Zack stated, examining his PHS coordinates.

 _Huh?_ Did he seriously mean that this three tier estate belong to that asshole Genesis (a.k.a my superior)?

 _Damn_ , his bank account must have more digits than my PHS.

So much for being executive-director, screw that! With a huge-ass house like that, no wonder he fucks around all day in the office. Such a filthy cock sucker.

_Careful Cloud, jealousy is not a good look at you._

"Real quick, I better give you some pointers" Zack whispered as if someone was somehow listening in our conversation "'Cause you know, better be safe than sorry, right?"

There he goes again, as if I hadn't heard for the hundredth millionth time how much he despises the fact that his good friend Angeal is still hooked up with Genesis.

"Why does Angeal still suck up to him? Like c'mon! You've seen how that dipshit treats him every time, right Cloud?"

In all honesty, at this point I was so exhausted that I couldn't process most of what spewed out of his mouth. Speaking of which, the dim lighting of the streetlamp above really didn't help hiding just how /fine/ he looked that evening.

While it might be a side effect of the exhaustion distorting my view of reality but you bet I didn't take long for me to start imagining all kinds of _interesting_ possible scenarios.

"Anyways Cloud, you got all that?"

"Uh, sure"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

( 𝟏𝟎:𝟏𝟑 𝐏𝐌 ) If someone were to ask me where I imagined myself in the next years, this is definitely it.

"Hey Angeal!" Zack waved his arms frantically in the air, barely missing a tray of bright coloured drinks standing atop a display case.

Making our way through the crowd, we eventually made it to the other side room somewhere near the balcony where Genesis stood by his boyfriend.

"I'm so glad you both made it here" Angeal embraced Zack tightly, it must've felt both affectionate and painful at the same time "Hello Cloud! I'm very happy to see you here. How's ShinRa been treating you so far?"

I tried my best my best to drag on the chitchat for as long as I could with Angeal, which in itself wasn't too difficult. He was Zack's good friend despite being higher up the company hierarchy. Nonetheless, he was hands-down the most loving executive assistant around.

"Hello Mr.Rhapsodos, thank you for inviting us to your house" I internally cringed at my own bullshit "The place looks amaz-"

"Cloud Strife. New assistant, am I right?"

 _Administrative_ -assistant, asshole.

"Thing is, my coffee was cold this Thursday"

_Is this guy seriously fucking with me right now?_

"I'm sorry about that, but actually I don't bring cof-"

"Doesn't matter anymore, does it?" He looked away "What I was meant was, do it better next time"

_What the hell is wrong with him?! I swear I-_

"Gen, love" Angeal cooled off the tension whilst giving me an apologetic look "We talked about this already. There's no need to be this mean to the newcomers"

Mental note for future me: No matter how rich you get, don't be an asshole.

More accurately, don't be more of an asshole than you naturally are.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

( 𝟏𝟎:𝟑𝟐 𝐏𝐌 ) As I closed the bathroom door shut behind me, the music instantly faded away, leaving me to my own thoughts and some peace and quiet at last.

The rattan cinnamon-apple fragrance sticks lying on the sink made the room smell like an old grandma's house, but still quite nice.

Being one of the leading figures at the ShinRa Business Corporation, Genesis sure is loaded with money (and greed, definitely) and with him and Angeal getting very serious (thanks for the details, Zack) they'll most likely be one of the most powerful couples in the planet.

Still feeling the need of a few more minutes of sanity, I dug through the drawers beneath the sink. In hindsight this was very stupid of me as could get fired for snooping in one of the company's executives' personal stuff but hey, it wasn't like anyone dared to burst through bathroom door.

 _Wow!_ I didn't know apple fragrant lube and sugar apple flavoured condoms existed!

In retrospect, I knew that if I got caught there was nothing I could do to save my ass but hey, he most likely wouldn't know it would be missing since there were heaps of condoms (literally) stuffed inside the drawer. And it's not like I was going use it or anything being recently single.

"Damn, this guy's really obsessed with apples" I chuckled how dumb I sounded "Weirdo"

Says the guy who's hiding at a bathroom at your roommate's friend's boyfriend's house, who is a possible psychopath (I mean, who has apple flavoured condoms? This man is not normal, I wouldn't be surprised if I found someone's apple-scented corpse rotting away in a closet upstairs).

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

( 𝟏𝟏:𝟏𝟏 𝐏𝐌 ) "Hey dude, i've been looking all over for you!" Zack edged me closer to him by swinging his arm on my shoulders, his breath smelling like very bitter alcohol "We need your help with something"

"With what exactly?"

"Well you see, Angie ordered a truck full of liquor and really good shit" I don't know how much he had been drinking but /damn/ "You could ahead over there and put those muscles of yours to work for us"

_Oh my God, this came out wrong._

_Stop overthinking things Cloud! He's so wasted so he probably didn't mean that!_

How I wish he was sober right now I would hand him a mirror just for him to see how smug and unnecessarily sexy that grin was.

_Woah calm your tits, Cloud! Did you forget about that church girl he's been seeing before you arrived in the city?_

Granted, Zack was very well build so he alone could easily handle the heavy work, but I guess being drunk wasn't make this task any easy.

"I-Uh, sure" That came out incredibly pathetic.

"I knew I could count on you! You're the best, Cloud"

━━━━━━━━

Damn, just how much liquor did they order exactly?! I knew the second my gut told me this was going to be long-ass night that i'd be fucked. Well, not _fucked_ as I would've liked to be, I mean fucked stuck playing the role of errand-boy (completely out of charge, mind you) for people I was hoping not to see until next week.

"Screw this" The bottles rattled upon impact on the doorstep, but I made sure no one of them shattered. The last thing I wanted right now was another threat by Geneshit Rhapsodos "This is stupid"

"Cloud?"

That voice. No, it couldn't be. You left her, remember Cloud? You promised you'd be there for her when she needed you the most, but in the end you never looked back.

Oh no.

"Tifa?"


	2. Chapter 2

( 𝟏𝟏:𝟐𝟏 𝐏𝐌 ) It all happened in a flash. One minute I was busting my joints playing bellboy and the next thing I realise, Tifa stood inches from me in her glorious flesh. 

That's right, I'm talking about THE Tifa Lockhart. 

The one I once called my girlfriend.

What are the _fucking_ odds.

"Hey uh- been a while huh?" Her eyes are up there, you stupid pervert "So what are you doing here"

"I actually started a little something here" I knew she felt anxious as soon as she rubbed her arm with her hand, some things never change "Business wise, I mean. Gotta earn money somehow"

Business? Money? What is she up too exactly?

"I tried calling you, Cloud. Telling you i'd be in Midgar but the call couldn't get through no matter what I did"

Oh right. Truth is, shortly after our breakup I had blocked her number from my PHS contact list. Honestly, I would've never imagined seeing her here of all places.

_Shit._

"Oh- that's really weird" I couldn't get myself to look at her eyes "Maybe... if I try calling you instead it'll work"

_Good going Cloud, lying through your teeth_

"Sounds good"

Someone please remind me why I broke up with her- Oh right, there was no way we could stay together after I moved to the capital. That's what I thought.

Besides, we've clearly grown since then, each going our ways.

"Cloud? Do you need any help?" I heard Angeal's voice edging closer at us, eventually greeting Tifa with a smile "Ah you must delivering our order"

"Yes sir" Her smile was just as gentle as her voice "Feel free to call Seventh Heaven anytime you need the best drinks for the best prices in Midgar"

The three of us stood in silence as we waited for what seemed like ages for the payment machine to complete the transaction.

It's been a long night.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟏𝟕𝐓𝐇, [ μ ] - εγλ 𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐗

( 𝟎𝟕:𝟏𝟓 𝐀𝐌 ) The office always smelled like bitter hard coffee in the morning, especially on Mondays. 

I pressed the elevator button as I waited for it to arrive. Meanwhile, I took a long look at my reflection in the distorted metal doors of the elevator. 

_Wow_ , when did I last get a hair cut?! Probably at Mom's, just before leaving home. If I don't trim it soon I'm afraid i'd be mistaken for a yellow Chocobo (again). If only money wasn't tighter than a virgin's cunt at the moment.

"Goood morning, Baby Blues!" 

I tried to hide the fact that I so startled by the high-pitched voice I even jumped a few inches from the ground. God damn it, Jessie. 

"Morning Jess" I greeted our receptionist "Also, stop calling me that. I hate that nickname"

"Awwn but they are sooo pretty!" She leaned in forward from the entrance desk and leered into my eyes, probably trying to steal my soul or some shit "Just figured i'd remind you that you're so frickin' adorable, just in case nobody has told you that today"

I felt a heat wave rising from my polo shirt and up to my face as damp spots formed beneath my armpits. _Ugh!_ I hated smelling horrible all day!

"I-I'm gonna be late" I almost tripped over my own feet as I stumbled away from her and headed towards the stairs "See ya, Jessie"

By the time I reached the 66th floor, I'd be reduced to a puddle of sweat.

━━━━━━━━

Well, that was embarrassing. As it turned out, I _did_ arrive a sweaty, disgusting mess at the office room. Some were giving me dirty side looks, others were asking if I needed help. 

Honestly I didn't blame them much, I was disgusted by myself! Would kill for a shower.

At least Angeal handed me a flask of deodorant and offered to lend me his spare gym shirt, saying that to considered it his thanks for helping out the other night with the crates.

Speaking of which, I didn't see Zack anywhere and he always clocked in before me.

After freshing up, I could distinctly oversee someone sitting at my desk.

"Hey Kunsel"

"Did you forget? Mr.Rhapsodos ordered us to work together this week" Gimme a fucking break "Isn't that cool?"

Thing is, while Kunsel isn't as bad as I make him out to be. Sometimes, he couldn't help but come across as... clingy? That's what the other workers have been saying about him. 

Definitely not the type of people I work well with.

"Yeah, I guess... By the way, have you seen Zack at all this morning?"

"Oh! About that. Headmaster Lazard needed his assistance for some kinda new project they're working on... Oh by the way did you hear about..."

_Ugh_ , here he goes again. Rambling on and on.

_Huh? What the hell?_ New project? Why hadn't Zack mentioned it to me before? Was he hiding something?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

( 𝟎𝟏:𝟑𝟎 𝐏𝐌 ) Lunch time was undoubtedly something to behold. Each table was unofficially-officially claimed by a group of people. We rarely mingled with each other, it pretty much felt like high-school all fucking over again.

As I passed by the tables to get to my and Zack's (the one at the far back, blessed by the sweet smell of the trash cans) my bullshit radar captured the obnoxiously comment that amber-haired asshole made about my stench earlier. At this point I was convinced his mouth only served two purposes: spew bullshit and suck thick cocks on a daily basis. 

A while back, there was a rumour circulating that someone in the marketing department had spotted him in a porno, full on bloodplay or some shit.

_Get help, you fucking psycho._

━━━━━━━━

"Hey can I ask you something?" I eagerly blurted out as I plopped down on a chair in front of Zack.

Huh? Where did that fucker get those Cheesy Chocobo Crisps?!

"Shoot, Cloudy boy" He sounded a bit confused but still managed to chuckle at my request "You're my friend, you know can ask me anything"

"Kunsel told be you've been working on some project with the president? Is that why you-"

"Cuntsel" 

"What?"

"Yeah that's his new nickname, fits him don't you think? Oh the project-"

Just then, we were interrupted by Zack's ringtone.

"Hey babe" Someone give me a fucking break "Can I call you later? I'm kinda in the middle of something"

"The church girl? You barely talk about her. You two okay?"

"First of all, her name's Aerith, and since when do you care so much about our relationship?" _Damn_ , he really put up his defences "About the project, sorry I can't tell ya much"

"Really? I think 'couldn't be kinkier' may be a better way to describe it" I could sense the nearby eavesdropping on us " _Oh please Zaaack I need you to take me right now_ "

"Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you-"

" _Hmm, I can really taste your pretty little pussy from my screen_. Maybe next time you two decide to do that kind of stuff, better make sure your earphones are plugged"

He pulled his chair so far back in anger that I wouldn't be surprised if it had left a bold scratch on the floor. I don't think I ever seen Zack so pissed before, face flushed and- _Oh!_ he left the nearly full bag of chips on the table!

_Heh, sweet victory._

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

( 𝟎𝟔:𝟑𝟏 𝐏𝐌 ) I rung up Tifa as soon as I took one feet out the building and asked if she wanted to chat about stuff. In all honesty, she did seem pretty enthusiastic over the phone.

After hell knows how many twists and turns around the narrow (and very filthy) alleyways of Sector 7, I miraculously made it to Seventh Heaven before dusk.

"You came" She smiled from behind the counter.

It seemed she already closed the bar for the day or business hadn't been booming lately as we were the only souls inside. Either way, I kept my tongue to myself. 

Just the both of us and an old stereo screeching somewhere.

♪ 𝐻𝑒𝑦, 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝐼 𝑚𝑒𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝐼 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼'𝑚 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦 ♪

"And why wouldn't I?" I chuckled nervously "Tifa, I missed you"

_Damn it_ , that came out the wrong way. She was my friend, my first friend, my first love, my first girlfriend, my first one — and nothing was going to change that. However, I wasn't sure she had moved on romantically. 

"You're funny, Cloud, So what can I get you? It's on the house"

♪ 𝐻𝑒𝑦, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝐼 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 ♪

I wasn't sure what to answer so I let her surprise me, and boy she did. Popping open a slender bottle of vanilla flavoured booze, its rather thick white liquid quickly poured into the shaker before shutting it tight.

All the while, Tifa glazed her tongue on her lips now glistering a bright red hue.

♪ 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡  
𝑀𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒-𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑  
𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, 𝑛𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠  
𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑙 𝑏𝑎𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ♪

Her slim, long fingers were coiled around the body of the cocktail shaker got to work quickly, making sure to shake it up and down thoroughly.

♪ 𝐼-𝐼-𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 ♪

♪ 𝑁𝑜, 𝐼-𝐼-𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 ♪

For the finishing touches, she added some rose essence drops to the sweet vanilla beverage before complementing it with a rose.

It was nothing more small, plastic pink rose with a toothpick impaled through it to keep it in place.

/God help me, I was so thirsty./

♪ 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝐼 𝑚𝑒𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝐼 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝐼 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ♪

"Enjoy Cloud, hope you like it"

♪ 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑒 ♪


	3. Chapter 3

𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟐𝟕𝐓𝐇, [ μ ] - εγλ 𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐗

( 𝟎𝟖:𝟏𝟐 𝐀𝐌 ) _Ugh_. I hated being swept out of bed early, especially on a Saturday. Speaking of which, it did feel like an exceptionally odd start to the weekend. 

For starters, my ears weren't punished by Zack being so painfully loud with the smoothie blender. Peering out the window, I could see people going up and about in the streets. 

_Hmm_ , so very weird.

Alas, it only took two glances at my PHS' clock to dawn on me that my crusty eyes weren't messing with me:

_THURSDAY, 08:12_

Hitting me like a punch to the gut, I felt the sheer adrenaline rushing through my body launching my legs off the bed as I scuttered about the room (I was planning on organising it very soon, I swear!), searching the floor for something to decent wear. 

How could I have overslept?! 

_Argh! _Why am I such a mess?!__

____

____

_08:13_

_Shit. shit. shit! I'm late to work!_

Nice going, Cloud Strife.

By some god-forsaken miracle, I managed to fish out a slightly wrinkled black polo shirt. A pair of dark pants were found underneath.

_Jackpot!_

The shirt slipped rather sloppily on my torso, but it worked for now. In retrospect, it was a very stupid decision not having grabbed a single bite before rushing out the door.

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( 𝟎𝟖:𝟒𝟑 𝐀𝐌 ) I entered the conference room only to find it cram full of staff personnel from all departments, all listening in to Mr.ShinRa's bimonthly assessment.

Trying to be as discreet as possible as I tried to find a good viewing spot amidst the claustrophobic crowd ( _Ugh!_ Seriously, why is everyone taller than me?!).

There was no escaping the countless dirty glares burning on the back of my head. I could feel everything around looking down on me like I was some sort of meek, easy prey.

Just then, I tried my best to shake off the feeling of my body temperature plummeting down at a frightening pace. With my blood now running cold and all I could see were black specks, floating about and slowly corrupting my field of vision. 

The president's voice, usually raspy yet strong and bold, was fading away despite being mere metres away.

Everything was cloudy.

And the clouds got darker.

And darker.

And-

"What the literal fuck, Cloud? Where the hell were you?!" I felt someone yank me by the arm "The meeting started thirteen minutes ago! Uh is that... my shirt? And pants?"

It was Zack.

"Hey dude, are you feeling okay?" His hand, warm and somewhat sweaty, was pressed against my forehead.

_I feel fantastic, can't you see?! Just hella pale and sweating cold. Oh and did I mention I feel like my brain is about to shut down?_

How I wish I had the capacity to snap something witty at him if not for the feeling of vomiting my organs out.

_For fuck's sake Zack! Just give me some fresh air!_

"H-Hold on to me, got it? Imma get you outta here"

Wrapping my arm around his shoulders I let my weight sink in as I let him escorted me out of the room. 

"It is my honour to introduce the newest addition to our headmaster team..." My mind could hardly make sense that came out of the President's mouth.

In all honesty, I've never been much of a believer in metaphysical stuff. But, that moment right before blacking out and can assure you one thing.

I saw an angel.

"... Sephiroth!"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

( 𝟎𝟏:𝟐𝟗 𝐀𝐌 ) By the time I woke up it was already night out and the streets were growing ever more silent. 

As it turned out, the company's ER nurse sent me home with a handful of chamomile tea bags (at least these freebies made my day tenfold better).

While I was definitely feeling more alive, it would undoubtedly take a couple of days for the feeling of sheer embarrassment to wear off.

_Dammit, Cloud! Do you really want your coworkers to treat you like as a pussy?_

Thoughts like these never ceased to cancel my sleep, so I reached out for my PHS atop the bedside table, deciding to check out my digital message box and see what I had missed.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of millions (not literally, i hope... /Argh/! It's impossible to navigate through junk-filled inbox) of unread messages one specifically stood out. 

It was from Rufus ShinRa. 

Basically, it was a full written assessment of the company's performance in the past two months. But, what really peaked my interest was the paragraph in with he detailed the newest member of the ShinRa team.

Wait, it can't be.

_No fucking way..._

That tall man, the one I saw from far behind and before i lost my grip on reality, his long silver hair shining lustrously — he was ShinRa's new executive assistant.

And his name was Sephiroth.

_Sephiroth..._

Even his name sounded like it was a blessing from the heavens of the Lifestream.

_Clack!_

The front door swung open — Zack was home from work, at half-past one in the morning.

Call me nosy but I was keen he was hiding something from me — his roommate and best friend. 

_Did I do something wrong? Why didn't he trust me enough?_

The footsteps sounded stronger as they approached the bedroom, I veiled my face with the satin bedsheets yet my eyes were open and attentively following his every action.

Casually, he removed his work blazer and placed it sloppily atop the already overflowing clothing rack. 

His fingers got to work on the small white buttons lining his long sleeved shirt, undoing every single one at a painfully slow pace.

The thing is, my roommate just happened to be your typical tall, dark and handsome man. Whenever he would show me around the sector when I arrived, it wasn't unusual to notice some side glances directed at him from time to time.

His open white shirt, laying loosely on his shoulders, veiled the sides of his bare chest that was now lit by glow of the city lights. It was broad, well sculpted and with a few dark hairs growing between his nipples.

_Thump!_

Something shook the floor, startling me so much that my body jerked an inch.

I could hear Zack muttering obscenities under this breath as he crouched before me, picking something from the floor.

The object was spherical and fit perfectly in his hand. It emanated a strange glow from the object, casting the bedroom in a bright maroon hue. 

_What the hell?_

It reminded me of a something a kid would play with — all sparkly with bright colours. 

_But why would Zack be carrying that thing around in his pocket?_

Whatever that thing was was certainly precious to him as he carefully placed it back in his coat pocket, making sure it was secure.


	4. Chapter 4

𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝟏𝟎𝐓𝐇, [ μ ] - εγλ 𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐗

( 𝟎𝟑:𝟒𝟖 𝐏𝐌 ) _Ahh_ , he is a dream. A beautiful and lustful daydream I never, ever want to wake up from. Even when I'm supposed to be concentrating on my duties, I find myself drifting my mind to Mr.Sexyroth (I'm already _loving_ his new nickname).

But hey! It's not like I'm the one who's wrong! Have you seen him? It should be illegal to be _that attractive_ in the workplace.

"Hey you! Blondie!" I noticed some people turning heads to me.

Black suit and tie, exaggerated black eyeliner, a bitchy expression on his face — this guy was definitely a Turk. Alarms were blaring inside my head wondering what I had done wrong. 

Employed by the company, these sneaky little fuckers were anywhere and everywhere, making sure the we always on top of our game and stayed productive all day long.

ShinRa took everything seriously, priding themselves for having the best work ethic in Gaia.

_No, no, no! God, I promise I will never take long breaks in the bathroom watching gay porn! I know I did that more than once but I promise I'm a good man-_

"You're coming with me right NOW" 

━━━━━━━━

I followed the Turk through the twists and turns of hallways, usually reserved for only executive personnel. I felt like a prisoner being escorted to some unknown cell.

Along the way, some staff members were giving me pitiful looks, thinking I was in trouble. Hell, I most likely was but this little bitch wouldn't tell me shit!

_Heh, maybe if I just snipped off his red ponytail with some shears..._

Just then, he stopped at the centre of the executive's hallway where piles of documents and copy machines were. He tapped his fingers on a printer and told me that required assistance.

"You want me to... fix it?" I stared confused at the machine and back to the Turk whose name I learned from his badge, Reno Sinclair "But I'm afraid I could ruin it even more, I don't know anything about printers"

_By the way, what kind of name is Reno? Who even names their kid that?!_

"Ask me that again. Actually don't. Do I look like a give a flying shit?" Reno literally spat at me, feeling a drop of saliva landing on my bottom cheek "Just shut up and get your hands dirty. The world's unfair, kid"

_Excuse me, do I look like I printer technician?!_

Before I could say anything, he had disappeared at the end of the hallway. Ugh! If the Turks want to be up our asses 24/7, at least make sure they aren't _actual_ assholes themselves.

_Give me a fucking break._

I figured that after I was given a day off two weeks ago after that panic attack, I was essentially their bitch now.

Well whatever, better get this over with. 

I overlooked the machine from all sides, nothing stood out. The problem was probably with the cables and wires. 

Thing is, the table in which the printer stood on looked ungodly narrow and low, the type only a kid would fit through.

_Fuck my life._

The executive's corridor was the fanciest wing in the building with vibrant, exotic vases and other luxuries displayed in an orderly pattern.

And then you had me, crouching underneath the table — ass up, face down, bent on all fours. _Argh!_ I sure wouldn't have chosen to wear these tight-ass pants if I knew I was going to be going through this ordeal.

I bet I was quite the sight for sore eyes.

My hand reached out for the busted cable and tugged it out of the wall socket. Upon squinting, I realise part of it was burnt off.

_Whew_ , now I just had to hand it over to the advisor and-

_Thump, Thump._

I heard footsteps, edging closer to me at a slow pace. I could feel my body temperature rising as the air grew thicker.

_Oh no no, not right now. Not like this!_

It could've been anyone. But lately, since my luck had seemingly hit a record low, of course it _had_ to be him.

Mr.Sexyroth.

"S-Sir!" I felt like a meek prey being loomed over by a hungry lion "I can uh- explain-"

I was taken aback by the little chuckle at my words. Honestly, I don't blame him, I felt a hopeless hot mess both inside and out.

"Oh don't mind me, please carry on. You're doing a _very_ fine job, Mr.Strife" 

_Hold it._

_What the fuck did he just say?!_

I watched helplessly as he briefly rested his hand on my chest before letting his slim and long fingers run up to my tie, grasping and straightening it. All the while my heartbeat seemed like an earthquake in my chest. 

The aftershock followed after he curved the edge of his thin lips upwards, forming a rather mischievous grin.

_Ugh, such a tease!_

I took every single cell in me to resist his devilish temptation. He was my superior! What the heck was I supposed to do? Throw my arms around his neck, stick my tongue down his throat and spread my legs on top of the printer?

_Oh hell yes._

"Cloud? Hey Cloud! Are you okay?"

Apparently, I had been standing there for who knows how long and Kunsel went searching for me. I reassured him I was alright, just a bit dizzy from staying such a long time bent under the desk and he handed me an aspirin.

Sephiroth had disappeared but it was too late, I was already under his spell.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

( 𝟏𝟏:𝟐𝟔 𝐏𝐌 ) Zack came home early (earlier than usual) for the first time this week and being the wonderful roommate I was, I couldn't stop bragging about the unfortunate-quickly-turned-fortunate (but still embarrassing) event at work.

"I swear to hell he knew exactly was he was doing to me!" I took a long slurp at my soda before laying it on the coffee table "That man just wanted to see me suffer under his touch!"

Zack hadn't opened his mouth much this evening, only to take a tiny bites out of turkey sandwich (hell, this is the first time i've seen munch on a piece of lettuce!). Honestly it was starting to creep me out seeing him behave like some soulless vessel.

It was so painfully obvious his new routine was slowly skinning him alive and he didn't realise it. What in the world was ShinRa making him do?!

"Hey, what is going on with you? You're not making this any more suspicious"

"Cloud. Just stop" With a sharp sigh, he leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes "I'm damn fucking fine okay?! And besides, it's not like I can tell ya what I'm working on-"

"Listen, I care about you, Zack" I held his wrists with my hands, forcing them down so he couldn't hide his face "You don't have to tell me about what you're doing, just tell me what I can do to you to make _this_ " I looked at him "A little bit less miserable"

_Oh fuck._

He was crying. 

It wasn't even mere teardrops, he was very much bawling his eyes out. 

"Sorry" He glanced at me, eyes flaming a light red colour "I just- It's the first time you said that you cared about me"

I couldn't just leave him there, no /fucking/ way.

Somewhat hesitant, I wasn't sure what to do at first in fear that i'd make him uneasy. However, as I began by wrapping my arms above his shoulders so my hands met at his chest, he embraced it and closed his eyes.

_It was working._

I made sure to take small breaths, afraid that he might wake up from even the slightest movement of my chest — I knew from experience that Zack was a very light sleeper. 

And just like that, sprawled on the couch resting his cheek on my chest he drifted asleep peacefully. _Aww_ , I couldn't help but picture him as a little puppy, going from an extreme to a sudden tranquility.

_Heh._

_Zack Fair, my little puppy roommate. Gotta admit, it has a nice ring to it._


End file.
